Water soldier (courtesy of orilliapacket.com).

     Ontario, Canada – A portion of the Trent-Severn Waterway has been invaded by the only known wild population of water soldier in North America. Likely introduced into the wild due to its use as an ornamental, the invasive crowds out native species, has the potential to alter the surrounding water chemistry, and has been known to cut swimmers with its sharp, serrated leaf edges. "We have discovered water soldier early and we're looking into future management options," said Matt Smith, coordinator for the invasive species awareness program at the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. Connecting lakes Ontario and Huron, monitoring crews will be sampling more than 2,5000 points along the Trent-Severn Waterway.